Door jamb square

ABSTRACT

A door jamb square made of two extensions, a vertical extension and a horizontal extension. Both extensions are provided with bubble spirit levels and are attached forming a right angle, that can be fit into the corner of a door jamb to square that door jamb. The door jamb square is secured to the door jamb using a nailing plate, web plate and a bolt. The web plate is placed within the webbing of the door jamb square, covered by the nailing plate. The web plate and nailing plate each have an aperture aligned and fitted with the bolt. Additional sheetrock screws are used to secure the other side of the nailing plate and door jamb assembly to the door jamb.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to door jamb aligning tools and,more particularly, to a door jamb square used to align door jambs.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] Building construction involves precise measurements andcalculations in order for a structure to be properly built. One mistakeor miscalculation can be magnified many times over and can, result inthe redoing and recalculation of substandard work. No constructionfeature requires more precision and accuracy than setting door jambs.

[0005] The related art describes many devices that can be used toproperly align door jambs. U.S. Pat. No. 2,636,282 issued to Kronquistoutlines the use of a doorframe setting gauge for enabling a workman toquickly and accurately set the jambs of a door frame. The gauge is aninverted L -shape gauge and is fastened to the jamb using standardfinishing nails.

[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 2,973,584 issued to Snapp outlines another devicethat can be used to properly align door jambs. This particular device isless cumbersome to store and transport. This particular device is alsoadjustable for angles other then 90 degrees between the vertical portionof the device and the horizontal portion of the device.

[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 3,499,225 issued to Darrah outlines the use off analignment and measuring square for use in the steel fabrication anderector industry. The square is provided with magnetic material alongits edge to allow a user to use the magnets to hold the square in placewhile the door jamb is being set.

[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 4,910,876 issued to Channell outlines the use of alevel attachment used with an elongated carpenter's level for forming anenlarged square, which can be better used to set a door jamb because ofthis additional length. The carpenter's level is firmly but temporarilysecured to the attachment for easy addition and removal.

[0009] U.S. Pat. No. 5,535,523 issued to Eridris outlines the use of, acarpenter's square which is uniquely configured for use in commercialconstruction which utilizes steel framing members. More particularly,this invention relates to a carpenter's square which is adapted for usein aligning a steel wall stud relative to a steel track to which thestud is to be fastened, such that the stud can be secured squarely tothe track.

[0010] U.S. Pat. No. 5,560,112 issued to Stein et al. outlines the useof a door template for cutting a door to fit in a door jamb. Afteradjustment, the template is removed from the jamb, laid over a doorblank, and the proper door size transferred to the door blank by runninga marker such as a knife or pen, along the periphery of the template.The door blank is then cut along the marked lines to form a door ofproper size to fit the jamb.

[0011] U.S. Pat. No. 5,813,125 issued to Byrn outlines the use of aself-holding square and level which includes mounting holes to allow itto be mounted via screws. These holes are inserted over the protrudingscrews, thereby holding the leveling square in place. There are alsogrooves provided in the center of the square to receive a levelingdevice positioned in various directions.

[0012] Although some of the leveling square devices described have aself-holding feature, that self-holding feature can be improved tobetter secure a leveling device while it is being used to squarely set adoor jamb. That's what is needed, a device that better stabilizes orsecures a leveling device to a door jamb being set. With a better way ofsecuring the leveling device to the door jamb, a more accurate andprecise setting can be made.

[0013] None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularlyor in combination, is seen to describe the instants invention asclaimed. Thus a door jamb square solving the aforementioned problems isdesired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0014] The invention is a door jamb square, which was developed as alabor-saving system to allow the rapid and effective placement of doorframes and other outer frames, due to its ability to square andstabilize the frames all in one procedure.

[0015] For many years, doors have been installed with the aid of alevel/straight edge and framing square. The door jamb square in contrastprovides ease of installing a door jamb by placing it in the roughopening all squared, while having the level and straight edge attachedto the jamb with the use of nailing plates. The nailing plates extendpast the jamb, which in turn will help to plumb and square the jambflush with the wall in the rough opening. This will all be done in oneeasy step.

[0016] The door jamb square is made of two extensions, a verticalextension and a horizontal extension. Both extensions are provided, withbubble spirit levels and are attached forming a right angle, that can befit into the corner of a door jamb to square that door jamb. The doorjamb square is secured to the door jamb using a nailing plate, web plateand a bolt The web plate is placed within the webbing of the door jambsquare, covered by the nailing plate. The web plate and nailing plateeach have an aperture aligned and fitted with the bolt. Additionalsheetrock screws are used to secure the other side of the nailing plateand door jamb assembly to the door jamb.

[0017] Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to allowthe rapid and effective placement of door frames and other outer frames,all in one procedure.

[0018] It is another object of the invention to provide an improved doorjamb square that better secures itself to a door jamb being aligned.

[0019] It is another object of the invention to provide a door jambsquare that holds and aligns itself against a metal door jamb and iscompletely self-holding.

[0020] It is a further object of the invention to provide a door jamb Itthat can be easily broken down for easy transport or storage.

[0021] It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements andarrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive,dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.

[0022] These and other objects of the present invention will becomereadily apparent upon further review of the following specification anddrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023]FIG. 1 is an environmental, perspective view of a first embodimentof a door jamb square according to the present invention.

[0024]FIG. 2A is an exploded perspective view of a door jamb squareaccording to the present invention.

[0025]FIG. 2B is a side perspective view( of the arrangement of a webplate, door jamb square, nailing plate, square shank and wing nut.

[0026]FIG. 2C is a side perspective view of the arrangement of thesecond type of nailing plate with hook, inner web and sheetrock screws.

[0027]FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of a door jamb square thatutilizes a slip-on wedge corner connection according to the presentinvention.

[0028]FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of a door jamb square thatutilizes two metal bolts for a corner connection.

[0029]FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of a second embodiment of adoor jamb square that utilizes magnetic material to hold the door jambsquare in place while it is being used.

[0030] Similar reference characters denote corresponding featuresconsistently throughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0031] The present invention is a door jamb square 10 used to align doorjambs DJ, as shown in FIG. 1. The door jamb square 10 is attached to thedoor jamb DJ with the use of web plates 50 and nailing plates 60, makingit more stabilized, level and squared when placed in a rough opening RO.

[0032] The door jamb square 10 comprises a vertical spirit level 20, ahorizontal spirit level 30, an attaching means for attaching one end ofthe vertical spirit level 20 with another end of the horizontal spiritlevel 30 (forming a right angle and a single spirit level assembly 40)and a securing means for securing the spirit level assembly 40 to a doorjamb DJ to align the door jamb DJ. This is shown in FIG. 2A.

[0033] Several web plates 50 are inserted in the inner web 24 of thehorizontal spirit level 30 and the vertical spirit level 20. A nailingplate 60 is placed over each web plate 50 and the aperture 55 on the webplate 50 is aligned with an aperture 65 on the nailing plate 60. The webplates 50 can be moved up or down the vertical spirit level 20 andhorizontal spirit level 30 to accommodate different sized door jambs DJ.(sliding motion will help miss the hinges on the jamb).

[0034] When attaching the horizontal spirit level 30 and the verticalspirit level 20 to the door jamb DJ, the top and hinge sides are stableand square (with the nailing plates 60 extending past the outer edge ofthe door jamb DJ). A bolt 70 is inserted into the, two aligned apertures55,65 and is punched into the web plate 50, with the end of the bolt 70protruding outward.

[0035] A washer 72 and wing nut 74 are placed on the protruding bolt 70and are tightened by hand forming a single unit, as shown in FIG. 2B.Four apertures 80 on each nailing plate 60 are placed over the door jamDJ and are inserted with sheetrock screws 82 to secure the nailing plate60 and door jamb square 10 to the door jamb DJ. The nailing plates 60can be turned 180 degrees from their outward pointing position toaccommodate left-sided and right-sided door jambs. There are alsohorizontal and vertical bubble sprint levels 90 distributed over thelength of the spirit level assembly 40, which serve as levelingindicators for the vertical spirit level 20 and the horizontal spiritlevel 30.

[0036]FIG. 2C outlines the use of a second type of nailing plate 62.This type of nailing plate 62 has a fitted hook 22 on one end, which canbe affixed into the inner web 24 of the horizontal spirit level 30 andthe vertical spirit level 20. The fitted hook 22 catches the top of theinner web 24 of the horizontal spirit level 30 and the vertical spiritlevel 20 to secure it in place. The second type of nailing plate 62 canalso be secured to the door jamb DJ with sheetrock screws 82.

[0037] The door jamb square 10 has an attaching means for attaching oneend of the vertical spirit level 20 with another end of the horizontalspirit level 30, which is a slip-on dovetail connection, as shown inFIG. 3. The dovetail 100 is on the end of the horizontal spirit level 30and is manually slid into the fitted aperture 105 on the end of thevertical spirit level 20. There is also a second attaching means whichsimply consists of 2 metal bolts 110 that are inserted into the 2apertures 120 that start from the vertical spirit level 20 and extendinto the horizontal spirit level 30. The 2 metal bolts 110 can bescrewed into the 2 apertures 120 using a screwdriver or screwgun (notshown). This is also illustrated in FIG. 4. Note that both attachingmeans can be used together at the same time for enhanced strength oreach can be used separately.

[0038] A second embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 5,where the door jamb square 10 securing means is a magnetic strip 130provided on the outer side edge of the spirit level assembly 40. Thisembodiment will only work if the door jamb DJ is metal, which is oftenthe case. The magnetic strip 130 is provided on the outer edge of boththe vertical spirit level 20 and the horizontal spirit level 30 and issimply placed adjacently to any metallic door jamb DJ. The magneticstrip 130 is strong enough to hold the door jamb square 10 in place byitself and allows the user to free-up his hands to perform otherfunctions. The use of a magnetic strip 130 to secure something in placeis well-known to those schooled in the related art and is not a novelfeature of this invention.

[0039] Operation and use of the door jamb square 10 is uncomplicated.The horizontal spirit level 30 is attached to the vertical spirit level20 manually or with the use of a screwdriver or screwgun (not shown),depending on the attaching means that the user chooses to utilize. Ascrewdriver or screwgun is also used to attach the sheetrock screws 82with the nailing plate 60 to the door jamb DJ as part of the securingmeans of this invention. The wing nut 74, washer 72 and bolt 70 are alsopart of the first securing means and are manually installed anddisassembled. The door jamb square 10 is also made of lightweight andheavy duty aluminum for strength and easy handling.

[0040] It is to be understood that the, present invention is not limitedto the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and allembodiments within the scope of the following claims.

We claim:
 1. A door jamb square used to align a door jamb comprising: avertical spirit level; a horizontal spirit level; attaching means forattaching one end of the vertical spirit level with an end of thehorizontal spirit level, thus to form a right angle and a single spiritlevel assembly; and securing means for securing said spirit levelassembly to a door jamb to align said door jamb.
 2. The door jamb squareaccording to claim 1, wherein said attaching means is a slip-on dovetailconnection between said one end of the vertical spirit level and said anend of the horizontal spirit level.
 3. The door jamb square according toclaim 1, wherein said attaching means are metal bolts between said oneend of the vertical spirit level and said an end of the horizontallevel.
 4. The door jamb square according to claim 1, wherein saidsecuring means is a nailing plate with a slidable web plate backing toreceive a removable bolt, wing nut screw, washer and sheetrock nails. 5.The door jamb square according to claim 1, wherein said securing meansis a second nailing plate with a hook and slidable web plate backing toreceive the inner web of the vertical spirit level and the horizontalspirit level and sheetrock nails.
 6. The door jamb square according toclaim 1, wherein said securing means is a magnetic strip provided on theouter side edge of the spirit level assembly.